Parts is parts:
One Orange Heat Spreader With Fan Pre-Installed
One Blue Heat Spreader
Two Adhesive Strips
Two Clips
One 3pin to 4pin Adapter
Okay then, now that we know what we're dealing with, let's get to work. The fan is already mounted on one of the heatspreaders so that's one thing we don't have to worry about screwing up. In my case, that's ALL good. The matching heatspreader ( sans fan ) goes on the opposite side of your dimm. While I'm on the subject of mounting this little beauty, I'll tell you a couple important things to remember. First of all, I'd only recommend using this Kit with a double sided memory module and secondly, forget about using this on any tiny BGA type module. The heatspreaders just don't match up properly. Take my word for it, that's just the way it is.
Mounting the unit is pretty straight forward. Place your DIMM on a flat surface and line up the adhesive tape so it extends across the entire length of the module, all the while keeping it centered on the memory chips. Next, and most importantly, make sure you know how your RAM mounts in your slot as you want to make sure that the fan will be blowing down on any additional modules you may have. Case this aspect out before mounting the heatspreaders because once you put the adhesive tape on and mount the heatspreaders, those babies ain't comin' off without a tussle, and you MAY damage your DIMM if you attempt to do so. Next you want to attach the enclosed clips to prevent the heatspreaders from separating from the DIMM, as unlikely as that may be, while your machine is operational. I found it was much easier to attach the clips if I spread the open ends out a bit before attempting to mount them. Try it, you'll see what I mean.
Once you've attached the clips, all that's left to do is sit back, admire your technical expertise and the beauty of the Kit. I have to say that it looks pretty darn cool! I think you'll agree. One thing about Thermaltake products is that I've always felt they went the extra mile as far as aesthetics go. That's something that goes along way with the case modding crowd and enthusiasts in general.
Oh! I almsot forgot! We have to put the memory back in the machine in order for it to boot! Too bad actually as I kind of like just looking at this little critter. So back in it goes. Do yourself a favor and place the DIMM in the outer most slot away from the CPU and hopefully you've mounted the kit properly in that the fan extends over the slots. If you didn't, I only have one thing to say. "Duh!" Presuming you're doing all this with your machine powered off, hook the fan into either an empty 3 pin connector on your mainboard or use the 3-pin to molex adapter to connect it directly to your system power supply. It's your choice and we can thank Thermaltake for giving us that option. Just another small detail that enthusiasts appreciate. I know I do. Having finished installing your DIMM and making sure it's seated firmly, it's time to boot your rig and make sure the Kit is connected properly and is getting the requesite power. I always leave a side cover off and have a flashlight handy to make sure any newly connected device is operational immediately upon inital boot following any new installation of hardware, especially fans and the like.
By now, I'm sure the more advanced overclockers among us are in full "yawn mode" and wondering if this active cooling solution actually provides any type of performance enhancing qualites. Well as it turns out, my experience is that the answer to that is likely to be somewhat subjective, depending on your configuration. What I found is that the heat spreaders were indeed quite warm to the touch after a few 3dmark run-throughs and about an hour of full-on gaming. That tells me that, if nothing else, they were drawing heat off the memory chips as all good little heatspreaders are supposed to do. I used my most high tech tool for measuring temperature I could find as well. My thumb. So far so good. Without getting into too much scientific mumbo jumbo, with regard to increased system performance, I'll simply tell you that I was able to run this particular DIMM ( Crucial PC133, cas2 7E) at 150 FSB, but no higher, prior to installing the Thermaltake Active Memory Cooling Kit. Following the installation I was able to achieve 152 FSB in the same system with the same configuration. That's interesting insofar as I know that all the components in the test machine had performed in a config with other memory that was capable of 160+FSB. That being the case, it's obvious that the improvement, albeit relatively small, was due directly to the performance of the Kit.
I must admit my conclusions regarding the Thermaltake Active Memory Cooling Kit are somewhat mixed. The quality and the aesthetics of the product are top notch. That goes from the fit and finish all the way to retail packaging. If I was a case modder and felt the need to display every last little detail of the inside of my computer, this product could easily be considered a "must have". Conversely, were I a hard core overclocker and bought this Kit to enhance system performance, I'd have to say that the results were somewhat negligable. After all a 2 MHz jump in FSB speed isn't exactly going to provide any real world difference in how your machine performs it's daily duties. At the same time I must admit that I've been in the situation of of where 1 or 2 Mhz of FSB was all I needed to reach the speed that I hoped to attain with a given config. The bottom line is that if you want to cool your DIMMs a bit and want your DIMMs to look cool doing it, then the Thermaltake Active Memory Cooling Kit is for you. In that the retail price is only about $4-5 more than a typical heatspreader or ramsink kit, Thermaltake can't be said to be trying to take you to the cleaners here. Personally, I think it's a better solution than either of those. In the end though, it will be up to the individual as to whether this product will be a worthwhile addition to their rig. I'm going to give it a solid 8 out of 10 in that it's an innovative product that is definately pleasing to the eye and does indeed offer at least some additional cooling to an area of a computer that doesn't normally get much attention.
